Ecopetrol says cyberattack compromises 3,300 user accounts

BOGOTA (Reuters) – Colombian state-controlled energy company Ecopetrol said a cyberattack resulted in the theft of data linked to approximately 3,300 user accounts, warning that it could not rule out a material adverse financial impact from the incident.

The company said it has not identified any critical disruption to its operations, production capacity or any direct financial impact so far, adding that none of the stolen data had been made public as of Friday.

One of Latin America's largest energy producers, Ecopetrol said the identity of the hacker remains unknown. However, the attacker has communicated extortion demands and threatened to publicly release the stolen information.

According to the company, the breach affected cloud-based file storage environments used by 15 subsidiaries, including Ecopetrol itself. It added that it successfully prevented an attempted ransomware attack.

Ecopetrol said it is continuing to assess the full extent of the breach, which could involve confidential, proprietary or personal information. The company warned the incident could have a material adverse effect on its business, reputation, operating results or financial condition.